Hello everyone! I just replaced my drivers side front axle u joint yesterday in an attempt to chase a popping noise that is sometimes heard when turning, especially if slightly flexed.

The install went relatively smooth. The bore on the outer axle stub shaft did have some gouging in it which was cleaned up with a bit of light dremel work and filing to get the burs down. After reinstalling the new U Joint, I noticed that one of the caps installed in the stub shaft seems to spin a bit when moving the U Joint..... Is this going to be an issue?

I am assuming the amount of material needed to remove to make the bore smooth again was slightly too much. Just wondering if I should run it, or buy a new shaft now and do it again. I did some light wheeling after the install, with no odd noises or signs of problems, didn't solve my popping issue though...

This is on a 2000 cherokee, 3.5" lift, 31/11.5 tires on 15x7 rims. No sway bars. This is how I bought it, it is on the road but it soley a toy. Drives relatively straight on the street with only minor driveline vibration that has gotten better the a cardon joint rebuild and new front driveshaft u joints. Trac bar, and steering components seem to be straight and tight.

 

it should not spin at all, you could tack weld it in place or replace stub shaft.

 

Those caps are a press fit. If it's spinning in the bore the stub is shot. You can tack it in place like mentioned but I'd be looking into a new stub shaft when it's time to change ujoints again.

 

Thanks guys, that is kind of what I figured. Should I replace immediately? What will it do, just wobble out the bore?

 

Well, you have one metal component spinning inside of another metal component, whatcha think is going to happen lol. You should be looking at fixing this sooner than later.

 

A common cause of u-joint failure is the cap spinning in place. What often happens is the c-clip gets fused to the u-joint cap and as the u-joint cap spins in the shaft the c-clip will interfere with the shaft and eventually pop off. This then allows the u-joint cap to leave the shaft at its earliest convenience and a failed joint/shaft quickly follows.

Check out doing full circle clips on your u-joints. It requires a small amount of grinding on the shaft but will eliminate the issue of the c-clip coming off.

 

Awesome, thanks guys. I'll order up a new stubby